It’s been nearly a year since legislation passed to allow riverboat casinos to expand on land within 1,200 feet of their river mooring, and so far no ground has been broken on those sought after expansions. Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Jones says that was expected, and it may be quite some time before any casinos climb up out of the water.
“We knew that things were not going to happen in the first year, maybe not even the first two or three years. This was really permitting the properties to make business decisions for the next ten years.”
The law also changed the restrictions on the total amount of gaming machines and gaming spaces riverboats are allowed to have.
Jones says of the 15 river boat casinos in Louisiana, so far he knows of only two who are actively working out their expansion plans.
“One is the Treasure Chest Casino in Kenner, the other is the Isle of Capri in Lake Charles, which is owned by El Dorado.”
Jones say the Belle in Baton Rouge has paused their plans to initiate an expansion.
Ultimately Jones says many of the casinos will not take advantage of the new law. He says if there isn’t enough of a market to warrant a riverboat expanding onto land, then they’ll likely not invest the large sum of money necessary to build out their services.
“For that reason a couple of these boats are going to stay in the water for a long time, because the market just isn’t big enough to support a huge reinvestment on land.”
